PHILADELPHIA - A Philadelphia drug dealer whose young son fatally shot himself with a gun that had been hidden in a sofa has been sentenced to 9 to 18 years in prison.

Javier Merle, 26, apologized to his family and in-laws at his sentencing Thursday.

Prosecutors say Merle had stashed heroin and a loaded 9mm pistol in the couch at his Kensington home. Javier Merle Jr., 4, found the gun in July 2011 after his father went outside during a dispute with neighbors.